Catalyst for national development of public-private sector bonds

Business news for Thursday, September 24, 2020

Source: Ghana Times

2020-09-24

Speakers at a public conference, organized as part of the country’s annual Civil Service Week celebration, called for intensifying the partnership between the public and private sectors, because that synergy is an important catalyst for national development.

At the conference in Accra on Tuesday, speakers, including players from industry and academia, noted that having vigorous cooperation between the public and private sectors had become even more necessary today.

The Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, who was the chair of the program, mentioned that a strong link between the public and private sectors would create an atmosphere that would improve and provide avenues for the transformation of the economy.

She said: “The private sector has been at the center of our national development efforts as an engine of growth. Therefore, it is important that in its work, the Public Administration gets involved with actors, both from the public and private sectors, to identify potential areas of collaboration for national development.

“Taking into account where our country seeks to be in the short and medium term, the beauty of synergy is that it establishes a greater force that helps, successfully, to overcome the obstacles faced by an entity, which it may not have been able to handle in in case it decides to do it independently, ”he added.

The Chancellor of the Ghana Institute of Public Administration and Management (GIMPA), Professor Philip Ekow Bonzie-Simpson, also reiterated the importance of the public-private partnership, as both had to depend on each other to achieve substantial growth and a sustainability.

However, he lamented the apparent political interference in the professional work of the Civil Service, saying: “Since independence to date, the Civil Service has faced many political challenges. This interference has not advanced the course of the country’s development ”.

Professor Bonzie-Simpson called for professionalism and meritocracy in the civil service, advocacy for estimated parity of services, and a government agenda that would support the civil service to work independently for the benefit of the country.

It encouraged a specific engagement with the various business ministries and professional organizations, and a significant link between learning and research and practice for the private sector for national growth.

Ghana’s Head of Civil Service Nana Agyekum Dwamena said that “the history of modernity has shown that the future of states in various regions of the world depends on a strong relationship between the government, the private sector and other actors within the governance space “. he affirmed.

Nana Agyekum Dwamena indicated that the change in governance systems required greater collaboration: “In fact, the private sector can only invest in various sectors of the economy after the establishment of a solid framework by the public sector.”

Therefore, he urged the public sector, in particular the public administration and the private sector to focus on improving the provision of services to the general public due to the complexities of modern development, which requires an effective network.